Imperium
by NSSP.SaruWatari
Summary: once again i suck at summaries


**Imperium**

The shop was silent.

Outside the dusty, bell-adorned entrance, the market bustled with activity. Footsteps traveled across the streets, the clanging of metal echoed across the city, and the cries of infants pierced the air, but the shop remained silent.

Until the crash. But that was unnoticed, a muffled series of thumps and faint, careful footsteps. Oh yes, and screaming.

"Kiku! Yon-soo!" Mei's shriek cut through the stifling silence, shaking the bottles and tins that lined the shelves. A full minute passed before a blur of pink silk carrying a ladle burst into the front room, searching for its prey. She found neither of her victims, nor anyone else for that matter. "Oh _no. _Yao and Xian must have gone to the marketplace...Kiku's supposed to take over!" She panicked, rushing to the counter to inspect the place. Nothing seemed at all out of order, but she couldn't be sure. Ever-so-carefully she made her way through the maze of shelves. No, nothing at all out of order, though she still brandished the ladle like a sword. But...Was that _maple_ she smelled? They didn't sell anything of the sort...

"Oh thank goodness! Someone!" The maple scent overpowered Mei just as her vision filled with cream-colored cloth. Instinctively she brought the ladle down, a solid blow to her attacker's shoulder. He leaped back, rubbing the injured area and blushing. "Oh dear, I apologize! I...I thought you were Yon-soo..." He tried to explain, wary of the ladle.

"...Alfred?" Mei asked, tilting her head and examining the man. She rarely entered the front room, but Yon-soo often spoke of one regular customer by the name of Alfred Jones. He certainly fit the description, with a boyish appearance somehow enhanced by his glasses and grease-stained clothing. His face and arms were bright red, freshly scrubbed, and as he looked to the side, mumbling something about names, she noticed that half of his eyebrow was missing. Yes, definitely a perfect match for her coworker's fantastic stories of the "inventor."

"'S Matthew, actually." He said, still avoiding eye contact and destroying her theory. Mei gave him a quizzical look, as if to say "who?" The boy sighed, violet eyes flicking over to her. "Alfred's my brother. I need to pick up some painkillers for him..." He dug a tin of the stuff out of his pocket, along with a few coins. "I'm sorry I can't pay for everything right now, but it's a bit of an emergency and I swear I'll pay it off..." Mei took the items from him, scrutinizing the coins.

"I suppose this will do..." She said as she made her way to the counter, flipping open a notebook to check if there were any reasons not to trust this mysterious other Jones. Absolutely no record of a Matthew Jones, only Alfred. "Or _not._" Matthew flinched as her tone sharpened.

"What's wrong...?" He asked, peering over the counter in an attempt to see the book. Mei sighed and shook her head.

"You're not listed, at all. Though we do have an Alfred F. Jones who owes...Well..." She didn't dare finish the sentence, instead depositing the coins and placing the painkillers on the shelves in the back. "I'm sorry, sir, but we cannot sell you anything." The words felt odd, as if she were reading a script. Kiku was supposed to handle customers; she kept everything in order and worked in the storage room. But here she was, watching Matthew grow from frantic to absolutely desperate.

To be honest, she wasn't all that fond of Yao. If she could cost him just a few pennies... She grinned as one hand found its way back to the container, handing it over to the poor boy. "Just don't tell Yao or anyone else." She whispered. Alas, the chiming and clattering of bells signaled that Yao and Xian were back from the market. Yon-soo and Kiku quickly emerged from their hiding places around the shop, the latter holding a glittering mess of wires and gears. _"You two haven't cleaned the storage room, have you?" _Mei hissed at them, puzzling Matthew. The boys ignored her, instead focusing on Xian, whose face was unusually expressive. Both he and Yao looked as if they had fought their way back to the shop, with their hair in disarray and dirt smudging their faces. Neither bothered to acknowledge Matthew's presence before Yao spoke, causing the three workers to freeze in their attempts to look as if they were doing their jobs. He said only one word, but that one word and the uncharacteristic note of fear in his voice were enough.

"Pirates."

* * *

**A/N: **Dear God, what have I created? This is an abomination. Also. Latin title totally equals steampunk. Anyway. Totally did not do the research. I never do. Mei=ooc!Taiwan. Xian=lame!Hong Kong. Matthew's last name is Jones, because "William" worked better as a middle name. YES I KNOW HIS LAST NAME IS ACTUALLY WILLIAMS, before you pedants comment. Sooo...yeah. This is a fail beginning for a story I had in mind. Well, I have a setting. Not sure about the plot. Still need to find an awesome name for the Bad Friends Trio's ship. SO PLEASE. CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM. I _know _this is fail. ( not true)


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